Probe into hate graffiti continues in Bridgewater

Wednesday

The Anti-Defamation League has condemned hate graffiti that appeared in an upscale Bridgewater neighborhood last week.

The Anti-Defamation League has condemned hate graffiti that appeared in an upscale Bridgewater neighborhood last week calling it “disturbing” and an “attack on us all.”

“The hate graffiti seems to have been not just an attempt to deface public property but an attempt to intimidate several communities including the Jewish community, the LGBT (lesbian gay bisexual, transgender) community, the African-American community, and even women,” said Derrek L. Shulman, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.

Meanwhile, police and selectmen are asking anyone with information about the crime to contact police.

Homophobic words and drawings of male anatomy were found on signs and sidewalks pointed at the home of a homosexual couple, a racial slur was painted on a mailbox near the home of a black family and an obscenity directed toward a girl was painted in her driveway.

Someone painted “Jew” and a swastika on a stop sign with an arrow pointing toward Laurie Miller’s house on Bramblewood Street.

Miller, who is Jewish, said it’s likely a group of neighborhood kids were responsible for the damage but, regardless of who are the culprits, they need to be held accountable and they need to be educated.

“If this was done by kids, they clearly have no clue what words of this nature can cause in the hearts of those who are targeted,” said Miller. “I want the family in sensitivity training or something … I just think, at least I really hope, that they think these are just words but they need to know how deep those words cut.”

Bridgewater police Lt. Christopher Delmonte said the investigation is ongoing, and selectmen say the matter is a top priority.

“There is no place for that in Bridgewater or anyplace else,” said Selectman Herbert J. Lemon Jr. “Those responsible for it should be charged and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. That type of activity will not be tolerated; it’s disgusting.”